Attorney General

*No heading*

the countess of mar: Her Majesty's Government how many cases of (1) Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, and (2) fabricated or induced illness, have been prosecuted against parents of children diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome in each year since 2010 for which figures are available; how many of those cases were successful; how many were withdrawn; and how many resulted in an acquittal.

lord keen of elie: Munchausen's syndrome by proxy and fabricated or induced illness are not of themselves criminal offences so cannot be prosecuted as such. They may, however, be of relevance to criminal offences which can be prosecuted.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of prosecutions where Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy or fabricated or induced illnesses may have been relevant. Such information could only be obtained through a manual search of records which would incur disproportionate cost.

Department for International Development

*No heading*

the earl of sandwich: Her Majesty's Government what assistance, if any, they have given to the government of Uganda in its work supporting refugees from South Sudan in the past two years; and to what projects and regions this assistance has been directed.

lord bates: In the last two years, her Majesty’s Government has supported the Government of Uganda in its efforts to host refugees from South Sudan by delivering food or a cash equivalent to 1 million refugees; vaccination and nutritional support to 350,000 children; and clean water for 150,000 refugees.This support is delivered by UN agencies and non-governmental organisations. Support has been directed to the 12 refugee hosting Districts in Uganda.

*No heading*

baroness goudie: Her Majesty's Government how they are implementing the recommendations of the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel on women's economic empowerment.

lord bates: The UK is a founding member of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment.In response to the Panel, DFID is working to deliver better jobs and working conditions across supply chains, increase access to finance and rights to land and tackle legal barriers and discrimination. For example, DFID’s new Work and Opportunities for Women (WOW) programme, will work with businesses in some of the poorest countries to improve job opportunities and working conditions for at least 300,000 women in global supply chains.The UK has a strong domestic story. In April this year the UK became one of the first countries to introduce mandatory gender pay gap reporting for businesses over 250 employees. We are also working with business to achieve 33% of women on boards by 2020 and eliminate all-male boards in the FTSE 350.

*No heading*

baroness goudie: Her Majesty's Government how the Department for International Development's strategic vision and plans reflect the specific recommendations of the UN High Level Panel (1) to support informal women workers, and (2) to invest in the recognition, redistribution and reduction of women's unpaid care work.

lord bates: In January 2017 the Department for International Development launched an Economic Development Strategy which includes a strong emphasis on supporting women workers to overcome barriers to opportunities; including unpaid care.DFID is already supporting informal women workers to secure property rights and increase their access to finance and markets. In the Niger Delta DFID is working with women farmers and entrepreneurs to increase yields and sales from cassava, palm oil and fisheries.New partnerships with business under the Work and Opportunities for Women programme, will improve job opportunities and working conditions for informal women workers in supply chains, with the intention of also addressing the burden of unpaid care.In addition, the Department’s research on women’s economic empowerment has increased global recognition and commitments on the importance of an increased focus on care.

Department for Education

*No heading*

baroness deech: Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the US in relation to its proposal tocut funding of the Fulbright Program by 47 per cent.

viscount younger of leckie: The Fulbright programme provides important opportunities for education exchanges between the UK and the US. We have received no communication from the US government to inform us of any proposal to cut funding of the Fulbright Programme.

Ministry of Justice

*No heading*

lord myners: Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to review the law on bribery and improper inducements.

lord keen of elie: The Government has no current plans to review the law on bribery and improper inducements.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

*No heading*

lord steel of aikwood: Her Majesty's Government why additional EU funding for farmers granted to the UK in 2014 was distributed across the UK, given that that funding arose because of low area payments in Scotland.

lord gardiner of kimble: Following agreement of the European Council on the EU Budget for 2014 to 2020, the Government decided in 2013 to maintain the historic split of the UK’s CAP direct payments budget between England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. This decision followed consultation with key stakeholders in each part of the UK and each of the devolved administrations. The decision recognised that not all parts of the UK had yet completed the transition to area based payments, making comparisons difficult. Scotland received less funding per hectare than other parts of the UK because of its mountainous, and therefore less productive, areas. Scotland has, on average, larger farms than the rest of the UK meaning Scottish farmers received higher than average payments.

Department for Communities and Local Government

*No heading*

lord warner: Her Majesty's Government whether any Minister has taken, or is considering taking, action to prevent the Palestine Expo 2017 taking place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in July; and if so, why.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: We have worked with the QEII Centre to consider the concerns raised about Palestine Expo 2017. Following consideration, we have agreed that the event can take place as planned. That said, we have emphasised to the organisers the need for all events at the centre to maintain good community relations and for them to ensure that the event is conducted in a lawful manner and in line with fundamental British values.

*No heading*

baroness mcgregor-smith: Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure key workers are able to afford to buy their own homes.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: This Government wants to support everybody, including key workers, by making homes more affordable with steps outlined in the Housing White Paper to increase supply. Currently the Government funds a range of home ownership schemes including Help to Buy Equity Loans and Shared Ownership to support all who might need it, including key workers, to buy a home where they are unable to afford market prices locally.

*No heading*

baroness mcgregor-smith: Her Majesty's Government when the initial findings into the causes of the Grenfell Tower fire will be released.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Prime Minister has announced that a full independent public inquiry will consider the causes of the Grenfell Tower fire. The inquiry will be chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick and conducted under the Inquiries Act 2005 including the power to compel the production of documents, and to summon witnesses to give evidence on oath. We expect the inquiry to produce an interim report as early as possible. The Metropolitan Police launched a criminal investigation into the fire on 15 June, which is ongoing.

*No heading*

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether theindependent expert advisory panel appointed to advise an immediate safety action following the Grenfell fire will consider whether the presence of disabled and vulnerable people should be given more weight in the fire risk assessment of premises, and especially of day-care centres.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government has published a note on the building safety programme, which includes details of the steps being taken by the expert advisory panel appointed to advise on immediate safety action. That note can be found (attached) athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing



Explanatory note on safety checks 
(PDF Document, 352.16 KB)

*No heading*

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to implement the Lakanal House fire inquest recommendation to"encourage providers of housing in high rise residential buildings .....to consider the retro-fitting of sprinkler systems".

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Department wrote to all social housing providers in 2013 following the recommendations in a Coroner’s report into firefighter deaths which occurred at Shirley Towers in Southampton in April 2010. That letter encouraged providers to consider the retrofitting of sprinklers in older residential tower blocks. The Department then reinforced the content of that letter in it’s response to the Coroner’s report into the Lakanal House Fire – a copy of which can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205567/Annex_B_-_SoS_DCLG_Rule_43_response.pdf



Coroner's report into the Lakanal House fire.
(PDF Document, 34.69 KB)

HM Treasury

*No heading*

lord myners: Her Majesty's Government whether they have discussed with PoolRe extending cover for acts of terrorism to forms of damage other than property damage; and if so, what support they intend to offer.

lord bates: There is nothing in law that prevents insurers from providing cover for other types of terrorism risks, for example where no physical damage occurs. However, Government understands that these policies are not commonly offered or bought. Treasury is in active discussions with Pool Re in relation to the evolving nature of the terrorism threat.

Department for Exiting the European Union

*No heading*

lord lester of herne hill: Her Majesty's Government whether they intend citizens of the EU-27, lawfully resident in the UK when the UK leaves the EU, to retain their rights as European citizens as protected by the EU Treaties and the European Court of Justice.

baroness anelay of st johns: The government has been clear that rights of citizens of the EU-27 when the UK leaves the EU will be enshrined into UK, not EU, law, enforceable through the UK judicial system. EU nationals will be able to rely on those rights in the UK legal system. We are also ready to make commitments in the Withdrawal Agreement which will have the status of international law.

*No heading*

lord lester of herne hill: Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the different rights granted to UK citizens resident in the EU post-Brexit under their proposals compared with those of the European Commission.

baroness anelay of st johns: On Monday 26th June, the UK published the paper ‘The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU’. This paper sets out a fair and serious offer of what we want to achieve on citizens’ rights, on a reciprocal basis, from the negotiations with the European Union.

*No heading*

lord lester of herne hill: Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possible changes to the rights granted to EU citizens resident in the UK post-Brexit, particularly in relation to rights granted to family members.

baroness anelay of st johns: On Monday 26th June, the UK published the paper ‘The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU’. This paper sets out a fair and serious offer of what we want to achieve on citizens’ rights, on a reciprocal basis, from the negotiations with the European Union.

*No heading*

lord lester of herne hill: Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to recognise the status of associate citizenship, proposed by Guy Verhofstadt, for UK citizens who wish to avail themselves of that status in the EU in future.

baroness anelay of st johns: We want to reach a reciprocal agreement for EU citizens in Britain and UK nationals in Europe as quickly as possible. That is why we have published our policy paper — to outline our offer for EU citizens, in the expectation that the EU will offer reciprocal treatment for UK nationals resident in its member states.

*No heading*

lord lester of herne hill: Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that EU nationals arriving in the UK the day after the UK's withdrawal from the EU will continue to have their qualifications recognised as they are at present.

baroness anelay of st johns: For mutual recognition of professional qualifications, the UK will seek to ensure that professional qualifications obtained prior to the date of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU continue to be recognised after the UK’s exit from the EU.The UK will also seek to ensure that where a person has begun an associated process that has not concluded by the withdrawal date, arrangements will be made to allow that process to continue. The UK will also give due regard to these professionals’ ability to practise without unfair detriment or discrimination.

*No heading*

lord lester of herne hill: Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to allow (1) UK citizens, and (2) EU citizens resident in the UK, to have direct access to any judicial body which may oversee the withdrawal agreement.

baroness anelay of st johns: The arrangements agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement, which will have status of international law, will be enshrined in UK law and enforceable through the UK judicial system, up to and including the Supreme Court. This will allow all UK and EU citizens resident in the UK to access the UK legal system for purposes of the withdrawal agreement. The UK has an international reputation for our independent legal system, adherence to the rule of law and respect for our obligations arising in international agreements.We have been clear that, after withdrawal, the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the United Kingdom will end.

*No heading*

lord taylor of warwick: Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to negotiate to enable UK citizens to keep their EU citizenship and rights following Brexit.

baroness anelay of st johns: Our aim is to ensure people can broadly live their lives as they do now. At every step of negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for UK Citizens. We are proposing a reciprocal deal which is fair and serious, and we are approaching these negotiations constructively and respectfully, with a determination to secure a deal that works for both the UK and the EU.

*No heading*

lord hoyle: Her Majesty's Government whether it remains their intention to ensure that they do not reach a deal on Brexit without Gibraltar being fully included in that final deal.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Government is clear that Gibraltar is covered by our exit negotiations and we have committed to fully involve them as we prepare for the process of exiting the EU. We will negotiate as one United Kingdom, and leave as one United Kingdom. The PM has been clear that we are seeking a deal that works for Britain – not an off the peg solution. That deal must work for Gibraltar too.

Department for International Trade

*No heading*

viscount waverley: Her Majesty's Government what was the total value of export finance available by country, together with the amount that was allocated to projects, for each of the last four years.

lord price: Measures introduced in the 2016 Autumn Statement enable UKEF to increase export finance capacity for individual countries by up to 100%, subject to country reviews.UKEF's public expression of current risk appetite for new business for each country is available on its website. It does not hold historical information about its public expression of risk appetite for each country, but the website notes where the risk appetite has been increased following the Autumn Statement.UKEF publishes details of the support it provides by country on an annual basis on its website. Details of its support for the last year will be published once its 2016-17 Annual Report and Accounts are laid before Parliament.

*No heading*

viscount waverley: Her Majesty's Government what was the total export finance facility available by country as at 1 June.

baroness chisholm of owlpen: UK Export Finance covers over 200 countries and it details the amount of export finance available (market risk appetite) for each country on its website.

*No heading*

viscount waverley: Her Majesty's Government what criteria they apply for allocating export finance facilities.

lord price: UK Export Finance sets its total risk appetite for each country by taking into account the size of that country's economy and the level of risk. Its assessment framework is aligned with that used by the credit rating agency, Standard & Poor's (S&P), but is additionally informed by cross-Whitehall forums, local UK diplomatic representatives, OECD country risk expert meetings and country visits, where appropriate.